Hardaway To Work To Improve Left Foot

MIAMI — Point guard Tim Hardaway followed up last season with arthroscopic knee surgery. This time, he left the Heat's final team meeting for tests on the sore left foot that had limited him since mid-April.

"I know it hasn't gotten any worse, because I would have felt that,'' he said Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I'll just go to exercise, therapy and get it healthy and 100 percent."

Hardaway said there was a chance he would have to place the foot in a removable cast for four weeks, "so I wouldn't put any pressure on it."

Coach Pat Riley, who will meet with Hardaway today, is optimistic.

"It's about him really rehabbing,'' Riley said. "We'll get a good read on that. There's no doubt in my mind that Tim can continue to play and be somebody that can really help us."

Riley also is hopeful Hardaway will follow the lead of guard Dan Majerle, who was close to retirement two seasons ago amid chronic back pain.

"He reminds me a lot of what Dan Majerle went through,'' Riley said. "Dan Majerle came to me in the middle of the season, said, `Coach, I'm done. I'm out of here. I can't take this. I'm gonna retire.' I said, `Why don't you lose 10 pounds, Dan? Lose 10 pounds and do something to your body you've never done.' He said, `Coach, I'm 233 pounds and 7 percent body fat, how do I get back to 220?' He hasn't been hurt since. So, somewhere late in your career, you've got to do something totally different.''

Still waiting

The NBA has yet to rule on potential penalties for the Heat's criticism of the officiating in Game 7 against the Knicks.

Before Tuesday night's opener of the Eastern Conference finals in Indiana, New York forward Latrell Sprewell admitted amusement at the Heat's carping, especially in light of a blatant foul by Majerle after Sunday's final rebound.

"They were doing all the talking, but they really didn't point to any particular plays,'' Sprewell said. "They were just saying there was some cheating going on and never really justified it by saying where and when it happened. Like they didn't see Dan Majerle pulling my shorts? They didn't say anything about that. I guess that was OK."

Said Knicks forward Marcus Camby, "They have all summer to complain about the referees."

The Heat also took a shot from Turner analyst Charles Barkley, who said, "Everybody asks why New York keeps beating Miami. The fact of the matter is Miami is not very good. Alonzo [Mourning] is unbelievable. Riley's a great coach. But Miami is just not very good.''

Askins deciding

Keith Askins is deliberating whether to remain on the Heat coaching staff or possibly resume his playing career after a year off. "We'll have a few meetings, and I'll see where it takes me,'' said Askins, who has served as a volunteer assistant since February while collecting the guaranteed $1.75 million on the final year of his playing contract. "Right now this is home for me, and this is where my family is, and I don't plan on leaving my family." ...

Because Isaiah Rider was released by the Hawks before the end of the season, the Heat does not have to wait until the July 1 free-agent contact date to express interest, as is the case with John Starks. Negotiations, however, cannot commence until Aug. 1. ... Mourning said his daughter is due Sept. 21, when he will be at the Sydney Olympics. ...

Guard Bruce Bowen said his future with the Heat is in the team's hands. "It's up to the coaches,'' he said. "I try not to figure those things out in terms of letdown, in case they're not as interested in me as I thought."